From hands-on Engineer to now providing servant-leadership
I started as a hands-on Engineer to build up essential skills a software professional should have.
The opportunities knock all the time and I converted them effectively at every stage of my career to take up new challenges.
I looked for the maximum in everything I did and that clearly helped me stay on top of things and give me more confidence.
Now being in the leadership position, I provide servant-leadership to the team which is dreaming big about what they do.
The experience I had gained at every stage is helping me to understand the challenges that they go through and work towards resolving them.
Setting up the vision and roadmap, I continuously enjoy seeing them succeed and seeing them feel good about their accomplishments.
I set the vision and create strategies for the Engineering team
From identifying the right talent for the team to developing them to their highest potential, I build and empower the Engineering team to be at their best. No doubt the team feels highly committed to doing what they do, I constantly steer them towards personal goals and aspirations to be prepared for the future. Everyone deserves to learn and grow and it is my part of the responsibility to develop the team to get there.
The digital transformation that we are in right now requires a start-up mindset. I motivate the team to build such a mindset that would give them the power to innovate. I trust in the team's abilities and hence give them time and space to drive the vision.
I will let the people fly high, fail, learn and adapt which will free me up to focus on my path.
It is all about setting the strategy and vision for the future
The current position offers me opportunities to challenge myself every day. This alone is enough for me to get up each morning and get going.
Since the challenges come in varying degrees, the role offers me continuous learning almost on the job.
It is hard to choose the learning courses randomly unless for a purpose and my role serves me with such a purpose.
Going beyond personal job satisfaction, my role gives me continuous motivation to develop members of my team.
It is a rewarding experience to coach talented individuals and encourage them to develop in their roles or beyond.
Our customers are the greatest motivation. They generate ideas for us in the form of expectations and help us innovate.
When we make them smile after delivering their much-loved product, it gives me and the team a great sense of accomplishment.
Choose a job you love.
Never stop learning.
Believe in your potential.
If you are in the early part of your career, my advice for you would be to keep your options much wider. You will be in a better place to identify your potential as you progress in your career, much similar to a practical experience as compared to the textbook knowledge.
If you are already an experienced professional then my advice would be somewhat different. You should go after the job that doesn't feel like a job but something you love doing (... and then you never have to work again, as the quote goes).
One of the important factors of loving what you do is to continuously learn new things because learning expands your limit of thinking and then the ability to organically take up new challenges.
My other advice to anyone on the success path is to believe in self-potential. It is possible to achieve anything but only as long as we believe in our efforts and keep trying. If we don't fail then we didn't try, so it is perfectly fine to fail so long as we learn from failures.
Coaching, mentoring and developing are my greatest achievements.
I have always enjoyed teaching others in one or the other way in different circumstances. This is partly because sharing the knowledge with others perfects my own learning and also gives me a sense of pride. I do this in several ways to fit the situation.
While coaching is not the main part of my role, I have always believed that it is an essential quality of a leader. They build trust and create a sense of belonging.
I also take opportunities and volunteer in mentorship activities. One of the examples of my volunteering is being a Code Club mentor at a Primary School. It gives me immense joy to watch children imagine big. Any act of volunteering fills me with happiness and more energy to engage at work.
